RESEARCHERS: 1 IN 5 AMERICAN KIDS HAS A MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER Those from military families at even greater risk for emotional-behavioral problems

May 6 is Children’s Mental Health
Awareness Day

New York City, April 15, 2010 – One in five
American children have a diagnosable mental health disorder and
kids in military families have an even higher incidence of
emotional and behavioral problems, say researchers at the National
Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP).

In a new brief, “Children’s Mental Health: What
Every Policymaker Should Know,” NCCP – part of Columbia
University’s Mailman School of Public Health – lays out
the mental health picture for America’s children (aged birth
to 18) and concludes that the country’s system for children
who need mental health services simply isn’t sufficient to
handle the volume or adequately meet the specific needs of this
most vulnerable segment of our population.

“We found that the delivery of public mental health for
children and youth remains largely ineffective,” says Shannon
Stagman, a researcher at NCCP. “And even among those children
and youth who are able to access mental health services, quality of
care is often deficient.” Janice L. Cooper, PhD, interim
director of NCCP, and co-author of the brief with Ms. Stagman,
points to some of the issues that compound the problem: “We
don’t have enough providers, and many of them do not use and
do not have the supports they need to use effective, evidencebased,
or empirically supported practices. And, our financing mechanisms
still do not support effective strategies.”

Among the often-surprising findings of the synthesis of research
in the NCCP brief:

The onset of major mental illness may occur as early as 7 years
old.

Roughly half of all lifetime mental health disorders start by
the mid-teens.

Children and youth in low-income households, those in the child
welfare and juvenile justice systems, and those in military
families are at increased risk for mental health problems.

Children and youth in military families tend to have higher
rates of mental health problems than those in the general
population, and those mental health problems are especially
pronounced during a parent’s deployment. Parental deployment
negatively affects children’s school performance, and can
lead to poor functioning including sadness and depression and
adverse behaviors, such as lashing out in anger and disrespecting
authority figures.

Sixty-seven to 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice
system have a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Preschool children face expulsion rates three times higher than
children in kindergarten through 12th grade, due in part to lack of
attention to their social-emotional needs.

African-American preschoolers are three to five times more
likely to be expelled than their white, Hispanic/Latino, or
Asian-American peers. (Much of this related to behavioral
problems)

In the course of the school year, children with mental health
problems may miss more than 20 days (10 days is considered enough
to hinder a child’s success).

Over 10 percent of high school dropouts were attributable to
mental health disorders.

Only 29 percent of youth expressing thoughts about suicide in
the prior year received mental health services.

Children and youth from diverse racial and ethnic groups and
from families who face language barriers are often less likely to
receive services for their mental health problems than white
children and youth.

Hispanic/Latino and African-American children in urban areas
receive less mental health care than their white peers.

Among children in the child welfare system, African-Americans
have less access to counseling than white children.

In the child welfare system, both privately insured and
uninsured children are less likely to receive needed mental health
counseling than those with public insurance.

Says Cooper: “When as much as 80 percent of children and
youth in need of mental health services may not be receiving them,
we have a serious problem. This does not bode well for our ability
to prevent some mental health conditions and avert unnecessary
despite our vast knowledge base about what works. As America rolls
out health care reform, we need a comprehensive approach that
builds a strong infrastructure that includes, among other things,
provider training and retention, adequate reimbursement, strong
information technology systems, and robust family involvement in
policy.” To see the full brief, access:
www.nccp.org/publications/pub_929.html.

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The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is the
nation’s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting
the economic security, health and wellbeing of America’s
low-income families and children. Part of Columbia
University’s Mailman School of Public Health, NCCP uses
research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring
positive outcomes for the next generation.